RocketHub was an online

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...

platform launched in 2010, its first use was September 1, 2009. Based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, its users included musicians, entrepreneurs, scientists, game developers, philanthropists, filmmakers, photographers,Hainer, Michelle
"New Site Helps Cash Strapped Creatives"
''Tonic'', June 10, 2010, accessed November 29, 2010. theatre producers/directors, writers, and fashion designers. Users posted

fundraising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

campaigns to it to raise funds and awareness for projects and endeavors. Operating in over 190 countries, RocketHub was once considered one of America's largest crowdfunding platforms.

History

Incorporated in 2009, the platform launched by January 2012. The original founders of RocketHub were Brian Meece, Jed Cohen, Alon Hillel-Tuch, and Vladimir Vukicevic.

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

and

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend ...

selected it as part of their guest-edited ''Ways to Change the World'' edition of

Wired Magazine ''Wired'' is a bi-monthly American magazine that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. It is published in both print and Online magazine, online editions by Condé Nast. The magazine has been in public ...

. RocketHub was the first crowdfunding platform to partner with network television, “We believe we’re the first broadcast network to start an initiative using crowdfunding to help people grow their business ideas,” Dr. Libby H. O’Connell, SVP of Corporate Outreach for A&E Networks. RocketHub engaged in a partnership with marketing agency Wieden+Kennedy and Chrysler's Dodge Dart in 2013 allowing users to crowdfund the purchase of a car. It was featured at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, the campaign video became a Cannes Bronze Film Lion winner. On April 15, 2015, RocketHub was acquired by EFactor Group, an online resource center for entrepreneurs. The acquisition deal was valued at US$15M. In 2018, eFactor Group shut down the RocketHub brand. In 2022, RocketHub.com domain was acquired by Charlie Patel, CEO of the newly formed RocketHub LLC. It launched as a platform for SaaS (software-as-a-service) products, WordPress plugins, and informational products. The new RocketHub entity and brand is not associated with any of the prior entities or individuals.

Crowdfunding

RocketHub enabled direct-to-fan

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

-based

outreach Outreach is the activity of providing services to any population that might not otherwise have access to those services. A key component of outreach is that the group providing it is not stationary, but mobile; in other words, it involves meetin ...

and

. Project leaders, i.e., fundraisers, publicize campaigns themselves through

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and similar platforms. When posting a campaign, users chose a campaign deadline, target funding-goal, and offered “perks” in exchange for contributions. Broadly, RocketHub shared similarities with platforms such as

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

, Sellaband, and Pledgemusic, however if the selected funding target is not reached by the deadline, the project leader was still able to keep the collected funds. RocketHub charged 4% of funds collected, plus 4% payment processing fees, if the project is fully funded, and 8% plus 4% payment processing fees if the project does not reach its goal.

JOBS Act

On April 5, 2012, President Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act) into law. Among other things, the act legalizes investment in

closely held corporation A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equi ...

s in exchange for funds from non-

accredited investors An accredited or sophisticated investor is an investor with a special status under financial regulation laws. The definition of an accredited investor (if any), and the consequences of being classified as such, vary between countries. Generally, ac ...

. In response, RocketHub published a

whitepaper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. Since the 199 ...

entitled “Regulation Of Crowdfunding” offering its perspective on how the

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

should regulate the industry. On June 26, 2012, Rockethub testified before Congress regarding the JOBS Act, presenting three points. They included how crowdfunding democratizes fundraising; how it will lead to job growth; and how it empowers investors.

Partnerships

RocketHub had partnered with organizations in order to educate the public about the emerging field of

: *

The Recording Academy National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

and The Grammy Awards - November 4, 2010 - ''Music Box Panel: A Professional Development Event Crowd Funding'' * New York City Department of Consumer Affairs and New York City Department of Cultural Affairs - October 23, 2010 - ''The Art of the Deal'' * CMJ Music Marathon, Music Dish, and Women in Music - October 20, 2010 - ''The "Musicians As Entrepreneurs" Official CMJ Music Marathon Networking & Showcase Event'' * New Music Seminar - July 19, 2010 - ''NMS New York 2010'' * Fractured Atlas *

The Orchard (company) The Orchard Enterprises NY, Inc., doing business as The Orchard (''also known as'' The Orchard Music), is an American music and entertainment company, specializing in media distribution. It is a division of Sony Music Entertainment, based in N ...

"RocketHub Partners with The Orchard to Fuel Music Industry Marketplace"
September 14, 2011, accessed August 30, 2012.

References

External links